


Outburst

by Helioste (themedic_josef)



Category: Bastion (Video Game)
Genre: and i wanted rucks to lose his temper for once, angst for the sake of angst, mentions of potential reset prior to events, mute Kid, potential spoilers for alt endings?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-06
Updated: 2017-01-06
Packaged: 2018-09-15 08:01:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,613
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9225863
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/themedic_josef/pseuds/Helioste
Summary: The Kid returns to the Bastion, only for things to make a sharp turn for the worse.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Maybe just a one-off Bastion fic, because I recently played and finished the game and boy let me tell you it nearly had me in tears because 1) it's a gorgeous game and 2) the prospects of the various endings

When the Kid returned to the Bastion, there was a strange air about the place he now called home. Zia was strangely quiet, as if anticipating something, while Zulf had taken up pacing. Rucks was nowhere to be seen. 

‘?’ The Kid tilted his head a little, brows furrowing as he moved towards the Monument and set down his spoils for the day. A decent amount of food, or decent in terms of what could be scrounged together after the Calamity had destroyed most farmland, and some materials to help bolster the Kid’s weapons. Other than that, there wasn’t too much there. Between fighting for his life and accomplishing the various tasks Rucks set for him, there was little opportunity to scavenge for food and supplies, despite the Bastion attempting to provide for them. But at least it was something. 

The Kid approached Zia and set down the small satchel of food, offering a smile and receiving a somewhat distracted one in return. After seeing his expression, Zia seemed to notice him properly. 

‘My apologies. There is just something...  _off_  about today.’ Zia apologised softly, smiling at the Kid properly as he frowned. ‘Well. It might just be me, but it feels as if the day has something else to offer. Another thing to surprise us with.’ 

The Kid nodded a little at that, still puzzled at her behaviour. It wasn’t like Zia, then again she was an Ura and he guessed they must have felt things differently. That said, the Kid didn’t know much about the Ura and neither Rucks nor Zulf wanted to properly educate him for reasons unknown. Speaking of Rucks, where was he? The Kid gestured that to Zia and she smiled. 

‘He’s in the Distillery. He said he wanted to speak to you when you returned.’ Zia said softly, the Kid nodding and moving off to the Distillery as he left most of his weapons behind bar the Cael hammer. 

He couldn’t help but wonder why Rucks was in there, and what he wanted to speak about too. Surely he hadn’t done anything wrong, had he? 

The Kid didn’t say anything as he entered the Distillery, pushing open the door and seeing Rucks stood in front of the shelves. 

‘?’ The Kid made a small noise, catching Rucks' attention and watching him turn with an odd look in his eye. He gestured for the Kid too move closer, watching him set Cael hammer down against the wall. 

‘Kid.’ Rucks said rather gruffly, approaching him before striking him in the face. It sent him stumbling, the small warrior clutching his cheek and staring wide-eyed at the old man. 

‘?!’ 

‘Don’t you stand there pretendin' to be all innocent!’ Rucks shouted at him, suddenly overcome with fury as he walked closer and closer to the retreating Kid, fists clenched as the Kid backed well away and stumbled out the door. Rucks was quick to grab the Cael hammer, swinging it at the Kid before he rolled out of the way just in time. 

‘This is all your fault!’ Rucks roared, Zia running over at the ruckus in concern. 

‘Rucks! What are you doing?!’ She cried, gasping as he swung the hammer at her threateningly. 

‘You stay out of this!’ He snarled at her, watching her move well out of the way before he swung at the Kid again and managed to strike him in the chest. The Kid wheezed as he was sent flying to the ground, panting and trembling as he scrambled to get up. 

‘Rucks, stop it!’ Zia shouted as the old man stormed over to the Kid. 

‘This is all your fault! You reset us last time and you didn’t do a damned thing to stop it happening again!’ 

The Kid could only stare in frightened bewilderment as he tried to get out of Rucks' range, being struck again and sent to the ground. In the corner of his eye, he could see Zia running to the Distillery, but it wasn’t his focus for long as Rucks attacked again. 

‘You won’t reset us again! Do you hear me?! You won’t commit us to this  _hell_  again!’ Rucks yelled, raising the hammer above his head before he was tackled by Zulf. The Cael hammer fell to the ground with a dull thud, the Kid panting and shaking as he struggled to get air into his lungs as his vision was going spotty. He could just about see Zulf wrestling the hammer from Rucks' grip, watching the Ura toss it away and keep the stranger pinned to the dirt before the Kid ultimately succumbed to the heaviness in his eyes and fell unconscious. 

* * *

 When he finally awoke again, he was being gently tended to by Zia with a cold cloth being pressed to his forehead and bandages in various places. Turns out, as Zia explained once the Kid was more conscious, Rucks had been exposed to some unfriendly substance in the Distillery. One that had induced a rage state in him, one that Zulf had managed to throw off the side of the Bastion and into the void below before being extremely thorough in eradicating it. 

'We're just fortunate that Ura aren’t affected by whatever that was. I don’t care for why we aren’t, I’m just glad we  _are_.’ Zia said, an underlying tone of fear in her voice as she helped the Kid back on his feet. 

‘Rucks is okay now.’ Zulf said as he approached, cleaning his hands and removing the apron he’d used to protect his colourful clothing while he’d cleaned the Distillery. ‘And I think you ought to go and see him. He is rather shaken with what happened yesterday.’ 

The Kid stared at Zulf with wide, disbelieving eyes. 

‘Yes. You were out for an entire day, I’m afraid.’ Zulf said with a sigh. ‘The old man nearly broke all of your ribs and attempted to cave your skull in. If I had not tackled him, he perhaps would have succeeded.’ 

The Kid remained mute, but still was quietly horrified at the prospect of it happening. He needed to see Rucks. 

He moved off slowly, nodding to Zia that he was fine as she worried over him, before heading to the Monument where Rucks stood. The old man, still a stranger to the Kid but he never thought on it much anymore, stood there worrying his hands and staring at the gentle glow of the Monument. It was difficult to believe that all of this was really happening, and for once the Kid didn’t mean the Calamity. It was difficult to believe that, sure, but it was even harder to believe that Rucks, calm and wise  _Rucks_ , had attacked him in such a manner. Of course, he knew it was the fault of whatever he had been in contact with, he couldn't bring himself to blame Rucks. But it was what Rucks had  _said_  that didn't sit right with the Kid - ' _You won't reset us again'_. The Kid didn't know why that hit such a nerve, why it disturbed him as much as it did, why it stirred something in the back of his head. He didn't know what it was, why it was, what it meant either. It just felt familiar and for some reason he felt an almost ridiculous amount of guilt and that only grew as he approached Rucks. He took a slight breath before touching Rucks' shoulder, the stranger almost jumping before he turned and looked at the Kid.  

Rucks didn’t say anything for a little while, just looked at him as he worked out what to say. Sorry wasn't gonna cut it, nor was 'I didn't mean it'. So what was there left to say? Undoubtedly the Kid would shake his head and smile, wave it off like he did with everything nowadays. Guilt ate away at Rucks like an acid, or was that just that supposed liquor he'd drank earlier? Either way, it didn't help him. 

'Kid, I-' Rucks started, his throat closing and making him hesitate before he coughed. 'I'm sorry. I, I don't know what got into me an'-' 

The Kid held a hand up and shook his head, offering a small smile to indicate that it was okay, that he knew that whatever Rucks had had in the Distillery had caused it. He knew Rucks hadn't meant it. He wanted to ask about what he'd said, what he'd meant by resetting them, why that had stirred so much anger within the old man. For some reason, the words just wouldn't come out. The Kid couldn't bring himself to ask, to open his mouth for the first time in his life, or maybe just since the Calamity, and  _speak_. He didn't know why he couldn't, and he didn't know why he wanted to ask about what Rucks had said so badly. Whatever it meant, it was bothering him and he couldn't work out why. 

Rucks noticed the Kid's hesitation and the way his expression faltered from a smile to a frown before flicking back to a smile again. He noticed the way the Kid's brows knitted together for all of a second, and the way his mouth opened before closing again. He watched him shake his head, force a smile and pat Rucks' shoulder before moving off. A simple sign of the Kid's forgiveness. There must be a thousand, no a  _million_  words the Kid no doubt wanted to get out. So many things he wanted to say, shout or cry and he didn't. Or couldn't. Rucks didn't know either way, all he was sure was that the Kid was very good at pretending to be okay when things weren't.


End file.
